There’s a wild jumble of opinion and half-truths in the tweet that are unbecoming of a cabinet minister and longtime police officer. Perhaps we’re being naive but we hold the people who wear and have worn a badge to a higher standard.

Let’s dissect what he said.

• Soft on crime: Trudeau said that he would revisit mandatory minimum sentences for crime. One-size-fits-all jurisprudence is ill-conceived at its best and dangerous at its worst. Not all cases are created equally. We put qualified people on the bench so that they can determine the appropriate punishment.

• Pro-marijuana legalization: Trudeau said in 2013 that he is favour of legalizing and taxing marijuana, adding that he thinks the war on drugs has failed.

• Consorts with religious extremists: Trudeau visited all of the mosques in his riding, including the one that may or may not have been a place where al-Queda members were recruited. The mosque denies it. It’s interesting to note that Pegina MP Ralph Goodale said Trudeau visited the mosque in 2011 before it was referred to in news reports.

That tweet then spurred Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney to pile on as well on Twitter with two messages..

“Have you ever been to al-Sunnah al-Nabawiah mosque? “I have most likely have been there. Yes.” -- Justin Trudeau”

“It’s unacceptable that Trudeau would associate w a group that allegedly radicalizes Cdns to join Al-Qaeda & engage in violent extremism.”

Is this really the state of Canadian politics? It’s no wonder that so many people now tune out. This is politics at its basest and most cynical; throw everything you can at the wall and hope that some of it sticks.

Perhaps it’s old-fashioned but we prefer that politicians attack the perceived sin, not the perceived sinner.

The funny part of all this is that Trudeau has committed enough policy gaffes on his own that he really doesn’t need any help from the Conservatives. His unscripted approach to speaking has led to everything from f-bombs to jokes in poor taste to outright policy mistakes.

Left to his own devices, Trudeau does more damage to himself than the Conservatives could ever hope to inflict. When the Tories do attack, it makes them look like ill-tempered and desperate.